"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
-- Sinclair Lewis

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Why Does Andrew Cuomo Act Like A Republican When It Really Counts Most? Follow The Money

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Baby needs new shoes?

On Friday we looked at how Andrew Cuomo has been able to run to the head of the parade on popular, high-profile social issues and noisily claim leadership, while working assiduously in the political backrooms to undermine the core of progressivism-- economic equality for working families. Cuomo wants to live up to his father's unrealized potential and get elected president but, unlike his father, he's the worst kind of political opportunist, an ugly trait that knows no partisan bounds. He may wave a rainbow flag at gay marches or kick the NRA douchebags when they're down but when it comes to the great economic issues that divide progressives from conservatives and plutocrats, Andrew Cuomo knows exactly which side is buttering his bread-- and knows how to keep that butter coming.Tom Precious of the Buffalo News reported on an analysis of the pattern of political contributions that have financed Cuomo's career and the result looks incredibly... Republican. Almost 80% of his donations come from folks giving more than $10,000 each. Virtually nothing comes from small donors. Only one percent of Cuomo donors have given less than $1,000. He's getting contributions from people who want something-- something very specific-- in return for their "investments." This isn't unique to Andrew Cuomo. It's the normal course of action for all corrupt political hacks and although it's 100% true for Republicans, it's something Democrats are usually, at least, embarrassed about.

The New York Public Interest Research Group reported this afternoon that 79 percent of the money raised by Cuomo since he took office has come from entities and individuals who have given him $10,000 or more apiece. At least 142 corporations, unions or individuals have donated at least $40,000 apiece and seven contributed between $100,000 and $500,000.The governor, who has recently started a push for taxpayer funding for campaigns and lower contribution limits, reported Tuesday that his campaign account has more than $22 million in it.

Wall Street and corporate America are investing in Andrew Cuomo. He's their boy. Wall Street and corporate America see him as a firewall against a real populist/reformer like Elizabeth Warren. Take the Citigroup PAC, for example, They pump immense amounts of money into the political system in the hope of holding reform and consumer protection at bay. So far this year-- and the year is young-- they've given Cuomo $40,000, a nice haul. In 2012, they had two operations going to bribe-- legalistically, of course-- politicians. One spent $579,345, 53% on Republican and 47% on Democrats, and the other spent $410,002, 59% on Republicans and 41% on Democrats. The Democrats they supported were only ones with proven records of corruption, like San Diego's new right-wing New Dem congressman Juan Vargas, an insurance industry lobbyist who was widely considered the most corrupt member of the California Senate until he was kicked upstairs and went to Washington this year. They gave another $10,000 directly to the New Dem PAC and $5,000 more to New Dem chairman Joe Crowley's own operation, (JOE-PAC). The top recipients for Citigroup cash in the House all have reputations for corruption and for taking money to sell out their own constituents. Citigroup recognizes that Andrew Cuomo is just like their favorite DC politicians:

And Citgroup was just a minor example of who's pushing Andrew Cuomo towards the White House. His biggest donor this year has been billionaire real estate developer Leonard Litwin who gave him a cool half million dollars. Litwin is one of New York's biggest political donors and annually spends over a million dollars on bribes for politicians on both sides of the aisle. Last year he gave generously to Cuomo and Romney, for example. Empire Merchants (booze distributors) also gives on both sides of the aisle, but always to the most corrupt politicians they can find-- like Debbie Wasserman Schultz (their biggest Democratic investment in Congress) and Eric Cantor (their biggest Republican investment in Congress)-- and they were Cuomo's #2 donor-- $121,600 so far this year. Also way up on Cuomo's list of big donors is Zuffa/Ultimate Fighting Productions, allegedly Mob-connected, Arab-owned, crooked to the core. They gave Cuomo $105,000 so far this year, also contributing $456,362 last year to some of DC's most corrupt politicians including Dean Heller (R-NV), John Boehner (R-OH) Miss McConnell (R-KY), Romney, and the new chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). Cuomo's list of donors reads like a page of people who need strict government supervision-- from Republican real estate mogul and Herman Cain sugar daddy Peter Kalikow ($100,000) and Cablevision ($80,000) to Pepsi ($97,000) and TimeWarner ($60,800)-- but these folks aren't underwriting Cuomo because they want more government supervision of their activities.